Can I get back the pre-2003 Visio pointing tool?

[Celia Avery]

I'm just starting to use Visio 2003, and I'm FRUSTRATED! I just want the old
pointing tool back, where I could click on any object to select it, without
having to click OFF of the last object first to avoid the multiple select.
Is there any way to get the old pointing tool back/turn off Multiple Select?
(I don't want Lasso or Area Select either.) Searching Microsoft's Help
didn't help. Thanks! (I hope Microsoft is planning to add that to the
Pointing Tool drop down in the next update.)

 

[Chris Roth [ Visio MVP ]]

Huh? You have to hold the Shift Key to do mutiple selection in Visio 2003,
just as in every other version.

I think they changed something with the Ctrl + drag though. I've been using
Visio since before 1.0, and in 2003, I always end up duplicating multiple
shapes where my habit *used to* only duplicate one shape. Ctrl+drag, of
course.

What is happening? Are you sure you have the pointer tool? (Ctrl+1 is the
shortcut to the pointer, btw)

 

[Celia Avery]

Thanks, Chris, but I was using the drop-down from the Pointer Tool icon,
rather than shift-click. I figured out the problem after playing around
with it some more.

Once you use the drop-down from the Pointer Tool icon to choose Multiple
Select (which I must have done by accident soon after opening Visio 2003 for
the first time), it's hard to tell how to get back to the regular Pointer
Tool.

When you go to the Pointer icon's drop-down list, you see only 3 choices:
Area Select, Lasso Select, and Multiple Select. OK; that's because the
ordinary Pointer Tool is represented by the icon itself.

Once you've selected the Multiple Select pointer tool, to get back to the
regular pointer tool you have to go back to the drop-down and choose Multiple
Select again. That turns off Multiple Select and sets it back to the regular
pointer tool. This isn't how the other choices in the drop down (Area &
Lasso Select) work, which makes it even harder to figure out.

This would be easier if there were a little check mark beside the Multiple
Select option in the drop-down, so you could tell you were toggling that tool
on & off.

Let me know if that wasn't clear.

- Celia